A Holistic Approach To Estate Tax & Retirement Income Planning
- Taking steps to limit your estate’s tax liability and protect your assets
- Diversifying investments to ensure dependable income streams in retirement
- Creating a plan for retirement distribution that maximizes tax advantages
What Does The Estate Tax Mean For Your Legacy?
You have worked hard to achieve your current quality of life. Careful planning now can allow you to preserve your estate for the benefit of your loved ones and charitable causes in lieu of paying excessive taxes on your estate. At Stefans Law Group PC, we can show you how to make the most of your assets while limiting your exposure to high tax rates.
Tax Advantages Of Estate Planning
One of the many advantages of estate planning is minimizing your beneficiaries’ tax obligation when they receive assets from your estate. Current tax law outlines the responsibilities and duties of a decedent’s gross estate when that estate exceeds the federal exemption amount. The current exemption amount is $11.2 million dollars per person.
A decedent’s gross estate includes all the decedent’s assets, including:
- Financial assets: Stocks, bonds and mutual funds
- Real property: Primary residence, vacation properties and other tangible property
The taxable estate equals the gross estate less these deductions. Therefore, if after all of these deductions are properly calculated and the taxable estate is valued at over $11.2 million dollars, it is subject to estate tax.
Many other useful estate planning and tax planning tools are available to maximize your wealth. Our unique team of in-house attorneys and tax experts can determine the proper tax plan for achieving your estate planning goals.
Thinking About Retirement?
Do you have enough to sustain yourself and your spouse for the next 15-30 years? Did you know that accessing funds in your retirement accounts in a specific order seriously impacts how much you ultimately receive from those accounts?
Retirement Income Planning involves carefully planning the distribution of your overall wealth. Our team of experts will examine your current financial status, income, and retirement plan to determine the best withdrawal schedule and way to maximize your retirement funds.
Each source of income and each type of retirement account is governed by a different set of rules. Being ignorant of these rules or otherwise failing to properly accommodate them can significantly lower how much you and your heirs ultimately receive.
There are multiple strategies that can be used in order to maximize assets and minimize tax and other liabilities. For example, a life insurance policy can be used to protect an IRA account, or a spousal rollover can be used to stretch out retirement benefits and minimize taxes. Additionally, retirement income planning can ensure children or heirs receive the benefits of tax-deferred growth, as well as protect retirement accounts left to them against threats such as divorce, remarriage, lawsuits or creditors.
Let Us Help You Achieve Your Goals
Our team of attorneys and tax experts will work with you to develop a plan that reflects your unique ideas, goals and priorities. Call 516-692-2744 or email us to schedule a consultation.